Improvement in furnaces and ovens for the manufacture of iron



J. YATES.

Furnace and Ovenfrhe Manufacture of Iron..

No. 41.807, y Patented March 1,1864.Y

Wmummmawuuuuuum w@ \\\uuuf'uuuuuuu.\\uuuuuuuuuuu wm uw! vUNITED STATES PATENT OEETCEL JOSEPH YATES, OF MOTT HAVEN, NEV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN-FURNACES AND OVENS FOR THE MANUFACTUREOF IRON. f

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 41,@07, dated March l, 1864.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that l, JOSEPH YArEs, of Mott Haven, in the county of Westchester' and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Iron; and lhereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, is suoli a full, clear, and exact description of the same as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the general construction, combination or arrangement, and operation of furnaces or apparatus for making malleable or wrought iron directly from the ore; and the object of my invention is to so construct, proportion, and dispose in relation to each other, the parts constituting my improved furnace that the same may, for the purpose of producing iron directly from the ore, be Worked industrially-z'. e. on a manufacturing scalein an economical manner and with practical results.

The great impending metallurgical fact of the day is the production of malleable iron directly from the ore-that is to say, without being previously converted into pig metal. This has been accomplished in a small way as a laboratory experiment, and on a larger scale in very primitive furnaces in localities Where there is at once a superabundance of wood from which the charcoal peculiarly tted .for this kind of manufacture is derived, and an ore consisting of a very fine and rich oxide of iron. Without these conditions iron could not be successfully made by any direct process. Numerous desultory attempts have been. made and by many persons, and some long anteriorto our day, to adapt this process to different localities, to a greater range of variety of ores, and in connection with a fuel other than charcoal. Furnaces constructed on the principle of thecrucible test or essay of iron ore in the dry way or with the deoxidizing and welding furnaces combined have been tried, but the results have been uniformly unsuccessful. Either the heat of the furnace was insuiiicient to effect the reduction of the ore and the-welding of the metallic particles together or the furnace was itself destroyed by the intense heat; or, again, the amount and cost of labor necessary to operate these furnaces Were comparatively great, so as to render the pro` cess impracticable. After many experiments, errors, mistakes, and tentatives I have succeeded in combining the parts of a reducingoven with those of aWelding-furnace and their appurtenances under such an arrangement that While it may be Worked uninterruptedly by a less number of operators than are required by any other process o r apparatus the Y requisite degree of temperature is obtained Within the various parts of the apparatus Without injury to the apparatus itself; and the the nature of my invention consists in combining in one structure the following elements: first, a furnace of such construction that heat and gases necessary for the working of the j Whole apparatus are generated therein, and by a reverberatory arch deliected upon a hearth to weld the particles of iron together, its iiue or ilues for the exit of the flame being by external exposure to the air partially protected 'from the effects of excessive heat, while the end wall at or about the flue affords ready access, and is thus capable of repair while the furnace-is in operation; second, an oven in which the ore is reduced by the flame and gases emanating from the furnace, so arranged in relation to the said furnace that the heat of l the latter conveyed by radiation or otherwise combustion, and provided with means for regulating the pressure of the gases within the apparatus. And my invention further consists in so constructing a reducing oven upon arched columnar or other open-Work foundation as' to allow of free circulation of the air underneath as Well as around it, and so that the heat radiated or otherwise conveyed from the Welding-furnace does not injuriously affect it. From this statement of the nature of my invention it will be seen that it relates more especially to the external construction and arrangement of apparatus composed of three elements-viz., a heat or flame and gas generator consisting of a grate or furnace with a series of lines and chimney so arranged that the reducing ofthe ore and the welding of iron particles are effected by the said gases or flame and on their passage from the furnace to the chimney; a reducing-oven consisting of a series of chambers in which the ore is reduced by the action of the heat and the carbureted gases and flux, (the latter, if the ore requireitg) and, lastly, a welding-furnace consisting of a hearth surmounted by a reverberatory roof, in which the reduced ore is submitted to a welding heat, whereby the particles of iron are united to form a ball or bloom.

In the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective view of my improved apparatus, A represents the welding furnace. This is a quadrangular structure of the general form of most reverberatory furnaces, but rather elongated to admit of a preparatory heating or working of the mass of reduced ore, and of thus gradually increasing the temperature to which it is ultimately to be exposed. The reverberatory roof is double-arched, and the preparatory working of the mass is effected on the hearth under the first arch, and through the door a, which I call the working-door, in contradistinction to the balling-door mthat is to say, the door through which the ball is nally formed and extracted from the furnace. A grate of fire-bars is arranged at 0, and the fuel burned thereon is supplied from a fan or other blowing device with a blast of air which may be heated by causing the current to pass through the hollow cast-iron firebridge. The whole structure is properly strengthened by iron plates and bolts or ties7 with the exception of the end wall-. e., the wall against which the flame is deflected just before leaving the furnace. This wall7 being exposed to great heat by the :dame taking a sudden turn in immediate contact therewith, is built of fire-brick.

It will be seen that on the ground the furnace is perfectly isolated, that access may be had to it on all sides, particularly on the end wall side, which is an important feature of my invention7 as by this arrangement the wall is exposed to the outer air, and the necessary repairs may be made without even stopping the operations of the furnace.

v The reducing-oven Bis another quadrangular structure erected, as shown in the drawings, on four massive columns, c. These columns support girders, upon which are raised the outer walls of the oven. The interior of the oven is formed of a series of chambers composed of reducing-tables so arranged that the heated gases or flame pass both under and over them. By this mode of heating the tables the waste heat of a puddling or welding furnace lmay be advantageously employed for the reducing of iron ore without resorting to the old and for many reasons objectionable closed vessels.

The reducing-oven, like the welding-furnace, is isolated from the remainder of the apparatus, and is located in respect to the welding-furnace in such manner that the vertical or but slightly-inclined exit-flue of the latter shall enter the reducing-oven at its under side as near the wall facing the weldingfurnace as practically possible.

The elevation of the oven relatively to the welding-furnace is such that the operator may have access to the latter without any hinderance whatever, and so that it may be surrounded upon all sides by cxternal air, and by its contact therewith be protected from the destructive action of excessive heat thrown out from the furnace by radiation or otherwlse.

The furnace is lconnected with the reducing-oven by means of a fine, which, as before stated, extendsupward from the roof and in continuation of the end wall of the furnace, and enters the `lower and foremost extremity of the oven. This flue is continued along the first table, so that the ame and gases entering the oven are swept along the under side of the table, whence they are carried into the first and second reducing-chambers successively until they escape into the chimney.

In addition to the flue there are tubes or hoppers which also connect the two structures. These tubes or hoppers are located in advance of the ilues, and have for their object to convey the reduced ore, after being discharged from the reducing-tables,into the furnace. The hoppers are provided with two register-valves, vwhich are kept closed during the intervals of discharge, and the air confined between the two valves will prevent the parts of the oven or furnace in immediate vicinity of the hopper or tube from being heated. The gases are finally carried off by a chimney, l), which is provided with dampers, whereby the pressure in the furnace and oven may be regulated at pleasure.

The operation in furnaces constructed in accordance with this my invention is the same as that in other furnaces of a similar nature. The ore is pulverized and mixed with twentyfive per centum, or more or less,of powdered coal. The mixture is thrown through hoppers into the oven on top of the reducing-tables, where it is spread out in even layer and allowed to remain exposed to the action of the heat for from four to six hours, during which time it is occasionally stirred or worked. Vhen the mass of iron is properly reduced, the tables are discharged into the furnace below, where the iron particles are welded together and are formed into a bloom.

Having thus fully described my invention and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, I claim the combination in one structure of the following elements:

l. A furnace of such construction that heat and gases necessary for the working of the whole apparatus are generated therein, and by a reverberatory arch deflected upon the hearth to weld the particles of iron together,

its flue or flues for the exit of the flame being l reducing-oven to carry off the products of by exposure to the air partially protected from the effects of excessive heat, while the end wall at or about the ue affords ready access, and is thus capable of repair while the furnace is in operation.

2. An oven in which the ore is reduced by the flame and gases emanating from the furnace, so arranged in relation to the said furnace that the heat of the latter conveyed by radiation or otherwise does not reach the oven, so as to injuriously affect its structure, also that the flue or flues receiving and conducting the flame and gases to the reducing-chambers are protected by external contact with the air from the deteriorating action of excessive heat within. v

3. A stack or chimney connected with the combustion, and provided with means for regulating the pressure of the gases within the apparatus.

4. So constructing a reducing-oven upon arched columnar or other open-work foundation as to allow of free circulation of the air underneath as well as around it, and so that the heat radiated or otherwise conveyed from the welding-furnace does not injuriously affect it, substantially as set forth. l

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specicatiou before two subscribing witnesses.

- l JOSEPH BATES.

Witnesses:

A. PoLLAx, O. BROWN. 

